Author Archives: Kami Klein

Food and Drug Administration Approves Genetically Altered Salmon

For many years, studies and controversy, the debate has raged on regarding genetically engineered salmon and has concluded with an approval from the Food and Drug administration. This would be the nation’s first genetically altered animal, although people already eat genetically manufactured  (GM) corn, soybeans and potatoes.

AquAdvantage, produced by Massachusetts-based AquaBounty, is an Atlantic salmon that contains chromosomes from an Atlantic salmon, a growth hormone from Chinook salmon, and a gene from the eel-like ocean pout. The result is a fish that is large enough for consumption in about a year and a half, rather than the typical three years.

According to NBC news, the decision, which has taken five years, is certain to anger consumer groups who want companies to be forced to label GM foods and environmental groups who are afraid the modified fish will breed with wild fish.

“The scientific review is clear. There is no credible evidence that these fish are a risk to either human health or the environment,” Dr. William Muir, a genetics and aquaculture professor at Purdue University said in a statement

The FDA also said it would not require companies to label genetically modified food but would recommend guidelines if companies wanted to voluntarily label their products.

Several retailers have said they won’t sell the GMO fish, including Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and others.

In a report by the Smithsonian, the FDA is currently reviewing genetically engineered mosquitoes that were designed to combat illnesses such as dengue and chikungunya. Millions of the mosquitoes are already in the Cayman Islands, Panama, Malaysia and Brazil.  A fierce debate is ongoing for a proposed field trial in Key Haven, Florida.

Hostages in Mali Hotel : U.S. Special Forces Assisted in Rescue Efforts

Two gunmen arrived in cars with diplomatic plates early Friday morning and fired their way into the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali,West Africa’s capital.  A combination of UN peacekeeping forces, U.S. Special Forces and local police  worked together to rescue well over 100 Staff and Guests.  The siege ended with both gunmen killed.  Currently officials are combing the building looking for more injured.  So far 21 people have been confirmed to be dead.   There are an unconfirmed number of injured being brought out of the building.

“U.S. forces have helped move civilians to secured locations as Malian forces clear the hotel of hostile gunmen,” said Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Falvo, a spokesman for U.S. Africa Command said before the crisis ended.

The Islamist terrorists stormed the US-owned hotel,  popular with foreign businesses and airline crews, shooting and shouting “God is great!” in Arabic, according to the BBC.  The gunman took over 170 people including many foreigners as hostages.

Reuters reports that dozens of people were reported to have escaped or been freed. Some people were freed by the attackers after showing they could recite verses from the Koran, while others were brought out by security forces or managed to escape under their own steam.

Interior Security Minister Colonel Salif Traore, speaking on state-run television, said 76 people had been freed by security forces.

Mali has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years.  An al Qaeda Islamic Terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

New “Superbug” Gene Found in People and Pigs in China Makes Bacteria Antibiotic-Resistant

Scientists in China have made the “alarming” discovery that another line of defense against infection may have been breached.  In research studies led by Hua Liu from the South China Agricultural University, they have identified infectious bacteria that may be resistant to antibiotics.

The University published their work in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal finding the gene called mcr-1, on plasmids – mobile DNA that can be easily copied and transferred between different bacteria.

According to several news reports, these untreatable superbugs originated in animals before spreading to humans and are highly resistant to antibiotics known as polymyxins, our last line of defense against disease when all else fails.

They include E.coli, the pneumonia bug Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa which can trigger serious lung, blood, and surgical infections.

Professor Nigel Brown, president of Britain’s Microbiology Society, said: “This discovery that resistance to polymyxins can be transferred between bacteria is alarming.

“Now that it has been demonstrated that resistance can be transferred between bacteria and across bacterial species, another line of defense against infection is in danger of being breached.

“We need careful surveillance to track the potential global spread of this resistance, and investment in research to discover new drugs with different modes of action.”

According to  Reuters, researchers warned that these findings suggest “the progression from extensive drug resistance to pandrug resistance is inevitable.”

“(And) although currently confined to China, mcr-1 is likely to emulate other resistance genes … and spread worldwide.”

Earthquakes Rock Oklahoma, Kansas, Oregon

A series of earthquakes were felt in the United States Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.  

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake was reported Wednesday afternoon 43 miles from Lakeview, Oregon, according to the Geological Survey.  The tremor occurred at 5:50pm Pacific Time.  In the last 10 days, there has been one other earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.

This morning residents in Oklahoma were awakened by a 4.7 magnitude quake that is reported to be the largest in that state since 2011.  The earthquake was felt from Norman, Oklahoma, to central Kansas, and from the Texas Panhandle to Missouri, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

The epicenter was 8 miles southwest of Cherokee, Oklahoma with a depth of 3.8 miles.  

“It was a quick jolt with windows rattling with [the first waves], then 5-10 seconds later, [the second waves] rattled windows and shook appliances and computer monitors,” said AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions Meteorologist William Clark, who felt the earthquake in Wichita, Kansas.

Local radar picked up thousands of birds that took off as the quake hit.  

Three other earthquakes were reported overnight in the area Thursday: a 3.1-magnitude at 3:46 a.m., a 3.7-magnitude earthquake at 6:03 a.m. and a 3.4 magnitude earthquake at 7:25 a.m. The 3.1 and 3.7 magnitude tremors were centered 9 miles west of Cherokee near the Kansas border. The 3.4 was centered near Crescent.

It is unclear if there was any damage or injuries at this time.

A strong undersea earthquake also struck off the coast near the Solomon Islands, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. These islands are located east of Papua New Guinea.  

The bureau initially reported that an earthquake of 7.1 had occurred at 5.31am ADET, which would be classified as a major earthquake, but the intensity was later reported as 6.8, which is considered strong.

The quake struck 119 kilometres south west of Dadali, in the Solomon Islands, and 176 kilometres north west of the capital, Honiara.  There are no reports of injuries and no tsunami watches or warnings issued.  

Leonid Meteor Shower At Peak Tonight

Tonight, tiny sand sized bits of debris and dust from the Temple-Tuttle comet will pass the earth, fall through it’s atmosphere and ignite. This show, called the Leonid Meteor Shower fills the sky every November and features up to a dozen meteors seen an hour.

The Leonids appear to be coming from the constellation Leo the Lion (hence their name) in the east, but they should be visible all the way across the sky. Leonids strike the Earth’s atmosphere at a zipping 158,000 mph, the fastest of any meteor shower.

Skywatching experts say that the best time to see the annual mid-November show will be between midnight and dawn.

As always, the best place to watch is said to be away from city light, preferably in a rural location with little light pollution. Since the eye can take up to 45 minutes to adapt to the dark, USA Today advises skywatchers to be patient so that the falling stars become brighter to them as the night wears on.

According to NASA, the waning crescent moon should leave skies dark enough for a decent show.

Explosion in Nigerian Market Kills 32, Wounds 80; Boko Haram Suspected

Tuesday night a blast struck a market in the northeastern Nigerian city of Yola, killing 32 people and wounding 80 others according to the Red Cross and national Emergency Management Agency.  The explosion struck after dark at a fruit and vegetable market beside a main road.  

There has not been an immediate claim for the blast but it has major characteristics of the Islamist group Boko Haram which has killed thousands of people over the last six years in it’s campaign to turn Nigeria into a strict Islamic state.  

According to many news reports, Tuesday night’s bombings break a three-week break in violence after a string of suicide attacks resulted in twin explosions in mosques in two northeastern cities that killed 42 people and wounded more than 100 on Oct. 23.

One of the mosques attacked was in Yola, capital of Adamawa state, where the insurgents struck again. It was the third suicide bombing in as many months in a city overflowing with some of the 2.3 million refugees driven from their homes by the Islamic uprising.

The militants have focused attacks on markets, bus stations and places of worship, as well as hit-and-run attacks on villages since losing most of the territory they took over earlier this year to the Nigerian army.  

In a report by CBS news, Nigeria’s military has reported foiling several suicide bombers recently, and killing and capturing insurgents as it destroys Boko Haram camps in air raids and ground attacks.

“The enemies of humanity will never win. Hand in hand, we will rid our land of terrorism,” Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said in a tweet.

Turkey and U.S. Advance Plans to Shut Northern Syrian Border from ISIS

In a statement by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, Turkey and the United States are working on an operation to finish securing the northern Syrian border. The area that will be the focus is controlled by radical Islamists that have used it as a smuggling route.

“The entire border of northern Syria – 75 percent of it has now been shut off. And we are entering an operation with the Turks to shut off the other remaining 98 kilometers,” Kerry said in an interview with CNN.

According to Reuters, the area where the operations would take place is now controlled by the radical Islamists. The United States and Turkey hope that by sweeping Islamic State, also frequently called Daesh, from that border zone they can deprive it of route which has seen its ranks swell with foreign fighters and its coffers boosted by illicit trade.

Kerry mentioned the operation with Turkey as he described to CNN the mounting pressure on IS in both Syria and Iraq, but wouldn’t elaborate on what it amounted to and whether the U.S. would send ground troops to take part in the operation. U.S. President Barack Obama authorized the deployment of special forces against IS in an apparent deviation from an initial pledge not to have boots on the ground in the campaign.

Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu stated to the state-run Anadolu Agency, “We will not allow Daesh to continue its presence on our border.”

The fight against ISIS has increased in fervor with intense air strikes by both Russian and French warplanes since attacks claimed by the group killed 129 people in Paris last week and a bomb downed a Russian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last month, killing 224.

Russia Promises Revenge on Bombing of Plane

The explosion of a Russian jetliner that took off from Sinai was the result of a terrorist attack according to Russia’s chief intelligence officer, Alexander Bortnikov.  The mid-air explosion of  the Russian jetliner over the Sinai desert last month  killed all 224 people on board .“Traces of foreign explosives” were found on debris from the Airbus plane, FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov told Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin vowed to step up his country’s military campaign against Islamist militants in Syria

According to Reuters, Putin ordered the Russian navy in the eastern Mediterranean to coordinate its actions on the sea and in the air with the French navy, after the Kremlin used long-range bombers and cruise missiles in Syria and announced it would expand its strike force by 37 planes.

During a Kremlin meeting broadcasted on Tuesday, Putin addressed the Russian people.  

“The murder of our people in Sinai is among the bloodiest crimes in terms of victims. We will not wipe away the tears from our soul and hearts. This will stay with us forever but will not stop us finding and punishing the criminals.”

Putin then promised, “We will find them anywhere on the planet and punish them. Our air force’s military work in Syria must not simply be continued. It must be intensified in such a way that the criminals understand that retribution is inevitable.”

The FSB security service announced a bounty of $50 million to find those responsible and said that award would be paid out for information that helps detain persons who blew up the Russian plane in Egypt.

According to several news reports, Egyptian authorities have detained two employees of Sharm al-Sheikh airport, where the downed plane originated, for questioning, two security officials and an airport employee said on Tuesday.

Most of the A321 passengers on the doomed plane were Russian tourists flying home from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Big November Storm Brings Tornadoes and Snow to the Central United States

A second powerful storm system in a week is causing weather havoc, bringing blizzard conditions to Colorado and the potential for strong storms and tornadoes as the system charges east.  Currently there are severe storm and tornado watches for Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Louisiana.  

This afternoon and evening we expect a line of storms to intensify with a threat of damaging wind gusts and a few embedded tornadoes. There could also be supercells ahead of the line that may also acquire rotation and spawn tornadoes as the day continues. For this reason, severe weather expert Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel has raised the TOR:CON to 5 for Tuesday afternoon and evening in portions of northeast Louisiana, southeast Arkansas and western Mississippi. This means there is a 50 percent chance of a tornado within 50 miles of any location in that area.

The system was expected to track east through Tuesday and Wednesday, with rain, damaging winds and possible tornadoes from Texas to Mississippi on Tuesday, and a possible lingering severe threat as far east as Florida on Wednesday, according to The Weather Channel.

These thunderstorms will produce torrential rainfall which will raise the risk of flash flooding from the southern Plains to the Mississippi Valley

Supreme Court to Hear First Major Abortion Case in 8 Years

On Friday, the Supreme Court made a decision to hear a challenge against a Texas law that put strict requirements on abortion providers in the name of protecting women’s health. This is the first major abortion case that the Supreme Court has agreed to give a voice to in 8 years. This ruling could raises questions about the legal fate of similar laws in more than a dozen other states.

The 2013 law requires abortion clinics to meet the same medical standards as standalone surgery centers, and forces doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals within 30 miles of their clinics.

Conservative groups that approve of the laws say they’ll protect women and prevent abuses like the case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia abortion provider sentenced to life in jail for first-degree murder.

Gosnell, was a doctor that ran an abortion clinic called the Women’s Medical Society in West Philadelphia.The grand jury report is full of horrific and gruesome details about the clinic that Gosnell ran for more than three decades. Patients were neglected; providers were not certified. Most abortions were done after 24 weeks and at a clinic that was described as a filthy house of horrors.

On May 13, 2013 a jury found Gosnell guilty on three of four charges of murder of babies born in his clinic who were born alive but whom he killed. The jury also found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter from the death of one of his abortion patients.
“Until recently, abortion clinics were held to similar health regulations as beauty salons or public pools,” the March for Life Education & Defense Fund said in a statement.

Supporters of the clinics note that when the laws were passed in 2013, there were more than 40 clinics in the state. Only 10 would remain if the laws are upheld, to serve 5.4 million women of reproductive age.

Whatever the court’s ruling will set precedent for either imposing clinic regulations or cause similar requirements in other states to be challenged. Ten of the 50 U.S. states have imposed requirements similar to those in Texas. Six have enacted laws requiring hospital grade facilities.

The Court’s ruling is set for June.